Same Planet Different World
by itsbroken
Summary: Two lost people find themselves together. one a Mobian and the other a human o/c from todays earth, though all is not plain sailing. Set in an alternative future where Nicole is now a true mobian and Sally has grown bitter to the human race.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I own none of the Sonic characters, they belong to SEGA/Archie/respective owners.

_**Same Planet. Different World**_

**Mobius**

A Lynx is walking away from the city she had built for _them,_ the heavy rain soaking her fur and making her shudder. In her mind the same thoughts constantly play over:

_7 years in this body and what has it brought me? _

_Pain to me and others._

_Fear._

_Isolation from my own kind._

_The whole point of this body was to bring the chance of love, and yet nobody will be close to me, let alone touch me._

_Sallys right. Whats the point._

**Earth**

It was one of those days what you wish you could forget about and move on, however this day had no intention of finishing with one man just yet.

It was a terrible night to drive, J half asleep heading down an empty road to yet another town in his old 4x4, still looking for the one thing he had lost, somewhere that feels right.

_Damn it I should really pull over, why wont this bloody rain stop, the wipers wont go any faster. 30 mph and I still can't bloody see.  
_

A few moment later his eyes were starting to close from the overwhelming urge for sleep that was taking over him, the events of the day and the strain of driving in these conditions had taken their toll. He tried snapping himself out of it though unfortunately had failed to notice he had strayed to the opposite carriage way. A few moments later his eyes began shutting again.

He soon had a rude awakening, headlamps of a truck shining directly in his face with its horns blaring. Hitting the brakes hard the wheels locked up in the wet conditions sending him sliding out of control. Moments from impact he swore he could see a black a figure standing between him and the oncoming vehicle.

_Helllllllll..._

Silence. J sat there trembling quite badly in the now stationary truck. Only the sound of heavy rain, wipers and the idling engine around him. No truck, no horns, no impact, nothing.

_What the hell just happened? Was that a dream? God damn I need to find somewhere to park up. Or perhaps a stiff drink._

Setting off again he couldn't help but wonder how long he had been asleep at the wheel considering the road had changed, the street lights now absent and generally looking more of a rural road.

A few miles had passed since the incident and J was feeling more with it, thinking to himself adrenaline was the reason though a little con-fuddled to exactly where he was so over the last few minutes had been stealing glances at an old map, his sat nav deciding to lose satellite location after the near miss.

_Where the hell am I? I should have hit a town by now..._

He looked up to find a set of green eyes reflecting in his headlamps a short distance ahead. Hitting the brakes he just managed to pull up to what appeared to be a woman standing in the middle of the road, the front bumper only a few inches away from hitting her. He got out of the truck and started towards her. Now normally J never shouts at people unless they are provoking him, let alone a woman, but tonight his nerves are on the edge and this seemed to finish him off.

_**WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING!? I COULD HAVE KILLED YOU!**_

_Why is he shouting at me? Why? Why do they hate me... _the woman thought to herself before dropping to her knees sobbing, saying quietly to herself (though J just about heard) "That's what I wanted." He stood in silence for a moment, feeling low for shouting at someone who obviously is going through something bad. Looking at her he found himself confused, she didn't look human or animal, somewhere in between with soaking wet brown fur and black hair. Cat like perhaps? Defiantly a female wearing jeans and a purple top.

_Come on Ballard show some manners. Whatever she is she needs to get out of the rain and have a think before doing anything stupid._

Stepping to the side of her he removed his bush hat and placed it on her, hoping to divert the rain off to some degree before saying softly: "I'm sorry for my outburst I didn't mean to hurt you, my temper is a tad out of kilter today. Jump in the truck out of this bloody rain, I will drop you off wherever you wish, that's if you want to of course."

She looked up into his eyes, green eyes meeting his blue. He couldn't help but feel sorry for her, her eyes full of hurt. Little did he know but she could see the same in his.

_Why should I go back? Why should I even listen to him? They all are the same... though is eyes show pain... I can't keep doing this. I want it all to end..._She lowered her head and started sobbing.

_Right Jay boy it couldn't get any worse, you may as well try as it might just snap her out of it, hugs are marvellous things... _

With that thought he picked her up and hugged her, in the process realising how wet she was. He also noticed the black markings under her eyes which reminded him of something from the eighties, hell he even could go as far as saying they looked kinda cute. She looked into his eyes again, which for some odd reason raised a small smile from him. Walking over to the truck with her in his arms he placed her down on the passenger seat. She looked to him in what can only be described as confused wonderment.

"Why are you doing this for me?"

"I'm not letting someone as cute as you come to any harm out here."

_What did he just say? He thinks I'm cute? _"Do you know who I am?" She asked timidly.

"Yeah your the silly sod who just tried to get herself killed" He answered with a twisted grin before adding "Seriously whatever has got to you, whatever has got you down, let it go. Things can never be that bad." As he was talking she noticed something about his form, or more precisely his hands. _Five fingers? I thought almost all homo sapiens died after Eggman destroyed Station Square._

He desperately wanted to ask her questions, mainly about what she was and where they were, though thought better to leave those to later then perhaps put her through any more strife then she already was in. He walked around, got into the drivers seat and set off to the unknown with the rather confused wet creature to his side.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Note:** _Sorry for all italics on the last chapter, I'm kinda new to all this so still learning the idiosyncrasies of the manager so please bare with me. **Again i do not own any of the SEGA/Archie characters **(though Jay is one of my own).

**More Questions Then Answers **

A fair few miles had passed in silence, both somewhat scared to say anything thinking the answers were bound to bring bad news. J looking over noticed she didn't look like a drowned rat any more, her fur drying nicely from the trucks heaters though she appeared lost in thought coupled with a sad expression.

He finally plucked up the courage to ask: "So what's your name then?"

The lynx visibly jumped as this brought her out of deep thought.

"My names Nicole. I'm so sorry for all this... um... I didn't catch your name." _He doesn't know who I am?_

"My names Jay Ballard, but just call me J. Now I know this is a bit up front but what are you exactly, uh, I mean I have never seen anything like you before."

"What do you mean exactly Jay?"

"Well... you're not human."

_Not human? Has he never seen a mobian before? Where has he been hiding?_

"I'm a mobian lynx"

She noticed a look of worry descend across his features, and almost immediately J pulled up and stopped on the verge of the road. Looking directly into Nicoles eyes with a serious expression he asked: "Is there any more of your type, I mean is it only the lynx who take the humanoid form?"

"Of course there is, there's many types of Mobians that walk Mobius. Cats, dogs, hedgehogs to name but a few."

" I see... Mobius, is that a reserve or town near here?"

This really threw her, thinking either he was mad or just playing with her: "Jay Mobius is what we call the planet... Where do you come from? Where do you think you are?"

"Well I'm British born and bred though I have wandered across the states for a few years. By my reckoning I should have escaped Texas by now but so you know the rest of the country call the planet Earth."

"Jay, nobody has called the planet that for centuries. Mobians walk the planet along with overlanders, true humans aren't exactly common. How did you get here?"

"I don't know, as far as I'm concerned I was just driving down a road though I did have a close call a bit back... What's a Overlander?"

"They are essentially the same as the old humans except for their hands and feet only having 4 digits on each compared to your 5 (she bent over and started idly playing with his hand as if to stress the point). We call them all humans anyway, but your type has nearly died out after their strong hold was destroyed a few years ago."

He paused for a moment to think. "Your not joking about all this are you?"

She just shook her head in conformation, with it J put his head back against his head rest and sighed. Reclining the seat full back he pondered on the thousand thoughts running through his mind, and non of them happy or making much sense.

Nicole watching him couldn't help but think:

_I thought I had problems . I think I best return something..._

With that she moved out of her seat and placed her arms around him and gave him a long hug whilst placing her head on his shoulder in a comforting way, J not entirely sure what to make of this felt somewhat embarrassed.

_Is this a custom? God knows but I guess I should humour her._

"Er thanks, I wasn't really expecting this."

"It's the least I can do.."

"Still what were you doing back there?" He had a fair idea what but wanted to know more.

"Id rather not talk about it."

"Fair enough, just don't try doing it again whilst I'm around."

She couldn't work out how to take the last comment, though felt reassured by it.

_Maybe someone cares a bit about me after all even if he is human. Hmm what's he doing..._

J absent-mindedly had started to stroke her in the same way as a pet cat, helping to take his mind off things in the same way as he did when he was a child.  
A few minutes passed like this with only the sound of the rain drumming off the trucks roof, J trying to process everything even though his mind was in turmoil, and Nic feeling strangely contented being close to someone even if it was a stranger of the wrong species. Another noise slowly crept across the truck, a soft purring, drawing attention to what he was doing. Feeling more than awkward he stopped and was about to say something when her green eyes looked into his, she said softly:

"please don't stop".

He didn't immediately recommence with the stroking as he wasn't sure of the correctness of it, though those pleading green eyes won him over in the end. Nicole purring as soon as he recommenced and his mind started to calm down.

_This feels wrong on so many levels. Maybe I should try to get her off me... BUT she seems happy. Sod it, people have done stranger things._

A short time later they were both asleep.

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The early morning sun had come and thankfully it was no longer raining. The noise of a passing vehicle had stirred J out of his sleep though it took a while for everything to sink in, Nicole on the other hand was still on top of him fast asleep with her head resting on his chest. He could only marvel at how warm she was, probably explaining why he had the best nights sleep for god knows how long even if it was in the truck. Looking at her in daylight he noticed the little tufts of fur on the tips of her ears.

_I wonder what they feel like... no don't. This is weird enough as it is. Damn this is all __so confusing._

The thought floated around his head until the inevitable happened. Lightly running his fingers across the tip of her right ear resulted in a twitch followed by light purring. _I think somebody's awake._

"Morning sleepy."

She moved a little then mumbled: "Morning. Um... did you just touch my ear?"

Sheepishly he replied "maybe."

She looked up at him and giggled as his face turned bright red.

"Don't worry J I don't mind."

She shifted to get a bit more comfortable before asking: "What are you going to do now? Where are you going to go?"

"Well for a start I will take you to wherever you want, then I'll figure it out as I go along like I always do."

"Your not being serious surely?". The lynx finding herself very anxious to the outcome thinking: _the first person to treat me with __**any **__affection and I may lose him._

Before replying he noticed a marked change in her expression, her pleasant smile replaced with sadness. Thinking quick he changed what he was going to say:

"Well I guess. I don't know about you but I could do with some breakfast before thinking about that proper. Do you know anywhere good?"

Her eyes looked a bit brighter at that. "Sure, I'll show you the way."

"Cool. Now Nicole as much as I like you on me you're gonna have to move before I can drive."

She let out a nervous giggle and blushed before clambering over to the passenger seat.

Pulling onto the road he set off for breakfast under Nicole's guidance.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer: **_I own non of the sonic characters or films mentioned, they all belong to SEGA and there respective owners.  
_**Editors Note: **_To all that read this may you have a merry christmas!

Jay found himself outside a small café on the outskirts of new mobotropolis struggling to take in everything around him, mainly the sheer amount of mobians that were going about their daily business _like humans. _The one thing that really stood out was the looks being cast their way.

He pondered to himself _Surly they have seen a human wearing a hat before?_

He didn't think much more of it before they both entered and sat down at a small table and waited to be served. Looking through the menu he realised a slight problem, Or rather two:  
1) No evidence of a full English breakfast.  
2) U.S. Dollars and U.K. Pounds not exactly an up to date currency.

"I hate to say this Nicole, but I think I'm going to skip this."

"Why Jay what's wrong?" she asked in a worried tone, thinking he already wants to go.

"It's quite simple, if what you said earlier is correct then I'm pretty damn sure that my money isn't of any use."

"Is that all?"

"well yeah, and the lack of a full English on the menu."

"Don't worry I'll pay for yours, it's the least I can do. What's a full English?"

A small argument broke out between them on the money front, him not wanting to take advantage of her and she determined to get him to see sense. She won, though he didn't want to go through the hassle of trying to explain a full English so went for the 'I'll have what your having' option. Shortly after a cat-like mobian waitress came over and took the orders, fruit salad and muffins for both, however J noticed the cat girl give Nicole a dirty look.

"What was that about?"

"what?"

"that look the waitress gave you, is it not a done thing for a mobian to be seen with a human, or hats frowned upon around here?"

After a pause her eyes start welling, just before she was going to say something he added "Don't worry, explain to me when your ready, OK?" Though he already had an idea what the problem was, but why she was upset was beyond him.

She gave a weak smile back and nodded.

"Anyway I just been thinking, what have you got planned for the rest of the day? I mean I don't want to be a burden to you or anything, it's just that I haven't got a clue where I am."

"I would be delighted to show you around" Her smile grew stronger as she spoke.

Breakfast was duly brought to them, and once they had done eating the both headed out into the city, J not entirely sure what to expect. As the day progressed he found himself drawn towards the lynx, he wasn't entirely sure why but he did feel completely at ease around her, something he hadn't been able to do for years. He also noticed more people giving her odd looks and a few fingers pointing their direction though she didn't seem to notice.

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The weather had turned again as the evening closed in, J pulling up outside her small house on the outskirts of the city. He shielded her with an umbrella as she carried some small bags of shopping to the front door before letting herself in and depositing the bags in the hallway.

"Thanks for all you done for me Nicole, I wont forget it."

She swiveled on the spot so she was facing directly at him as he went on to say: " I best leave you in peace, hell you probably have had enough dumb questions from me today to last a life time."

Her mind raced:_ What? He wants to go? You can't let him slip away just like that, think of something to stop him... _"Where are you staying? you still haven't got any money."

"Ah don't worry about me, I will figure out something and besides iv slept in the truck before and I'm sure it wont be the last".

To that she quickly retorted "Your staying here" and at the same time pulled him inside and shut the door.

"Nicole you don't have to do this, you don't owe me anything indeed I should be the one doing something for you."

"Then please stay here for me." Nicole blushed a vibrant red as soon as she realised how her reply sounded.

"Well there's an offer a guy doesn't get everyday, hell you will be wanting me to stroke you next." J decided to say it just to see if he could get her to turn any redder. It worked.

"N-no Jay its nothing like that." though in all honesty she badly wished it was..

"Right, if you say so" giving her a playful smile and a wink whilest thinking _How can she turn any redder? She looks kinda flustered so probably should change the subject before she slaps me or collapses._

"Aren't you going to give me the guided tour or are we going to stay in the hall way all night?"

"Oh of course where are my manners!"

With that she led him off around the house, J impressed with the simple and minimalistic feel that ran through the place though it didn't take long considering it was a one bedroom affair, ending with the living room.

"Take a seat, I'll go and grab a few snacks." She gestured to a white leather sofa, J couldn't help think whilst sitting: _A bit Essex maybe, should make a good bed though. _

A little later he had finally figured out how to turn the TV on just as Nicole came back carrying a big bucket of pop corn before asking " Did you fancy a film?"  
J was neither here or there on it, having a good guess whatever was going to be played was going to be of the romcom variety, Until he had a thought.

"Can it play DVD's?"

"There's a disc drive in the side of it what plays all known file types, even a format that ancient"

"Cool. I'll be back in a moment."

Before she could respond he had already got up and was out of the door, before shortly returning with a carry-all.

"What's in the bag?" She asked whilst shooting him a puzzled look as he sat down next to her placing the bag in front of him.

"Well as you been asking me all day what old earth was like, why not show you a tiny bit of it"

And with that he opened the bag and pulled out a selection of DVDs and handed them to Nic for her opinion. Now his taste wasn't the most normal in his time. Blues brothers, Dr strange-love, Avatar, The Italian job (original), Battle of Britain, The Dictator and Team America. She studied all of them making comments how these should be in a museum, until she spotted one left in the bag.

"Hey you missed one"

_Oh crap she has spotted it... well I know what she is going to watch now._

He pulled it out and gave it to her. She quickly looked over it and announced she indeed wanted to watch it. He thought to himself:_ Great one Ballard, you're going to have to sit through another airing of you got mail. Why didn't I just ditch the DVD when I had the chance..._

Throughout the film she was amazingly quiet, fixed to the screen taking it all in. J contented as he had the popcorn bucket and was busy doing his best to munch his way through it. He had however noticed how she was ever so slyly inching her way towards him as time went by. _Bless, why doesn't she just get on with it, it's not like I'm going to say no. I know what I'll do... _He placed the popcorn bucket down and then picked her up, she letting out a little squeak of surprise, before lying down with her on top.

"Jay what..." she started to ask looking into his eyes.

"hush, don't think about it, just watch the film OK?"

With that she relaxed and turned her head towards the TV whilst resting it on his chest. A short while later she was purring away happily and J couldn't help the feeling of déjà vu come over him.

Once the film ended Nicole moved herself so she was again looking at him before asking: "Did you have anybody special back on the old earth ?"

"To be fair Nicole I have been a bit cursed on that front." He knew where this was going.

"oh I'm surprised at that".

He couldn't resist tickling her ear for that.

"No you could say that because of it its how I found myself here today"

"How so?"

"Do you really want to know? I don't want to bring you down."

"Of course I do, don't worry about that."

" OK Condensed history. Loved somebody in a different country. Moved there, planned to get married to find out she had been cheating on me with one of my/her friends. I lost my job as her old man employed me and none of the other apparent friends would help me. I left that town and have gone from state to state looking for a place that feels right, working where I could to see if I could save enough cash for a flight home if all else failed. Last night I was driving on another one of my moves and that's when whatever happened happened."

"Didn't your parents try to help you get home?"

" I'm sure they would have, but I never knew my father and my mother died when I was 17. I moved over to the states at 20 to be with **her**_"._

"oh god I'm sorry Jay, (she placed her hands on his face, bringing it down so her eyes can look into his) how long have you been looking?"

"7 years."

Nicole wasn't sure what to say, and he could tell she wanted to say something but was holding back.

"Nic whatever you want to say just say it"

"You don't need to search any more, I'll always be here for you" moving her hands from his face and kissed him on the cheek, before hugging him tightly. He was silent for a minute, really stumped on how to feel about her affection before replying:

"Nicole"

"yeah?"

" You soppy daft sod" Followed by stroking her ears/back, her purring louder than before though he was still thinking _Why doe she show me so much affection, she doesn't even know me? I wonder if I should ask...  
_"Hey Nic, this is going to sound a bit odd, but why are you being so nice to me?"

"Your helped me last night."

"Is that it? anyone would have done the same."

"No they wouldn't, if it was anybody else they probably would have accelerated at me rather than brake. They all hate me for..."

"hush. I don't hate you, that's all you need to be worried about at the moment."

She looked back at him with a small smile "Thank you J. At least I feel wanted with you around" before gently nuzzling him, J simply settled on stroking her back, wondering what the poor creature has gone through in the past. Soon they were both asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer:** _I own none of the characters other than Jay, they belong to SEGA and there respective owners.  
_**Authors Note: **_Thanks for the positive review (you know who you are ;) ), nice to know someone is reading these scribbles!

**Unexpected Guests  
**

The pair had both slept soundly on the sofa until around 7am, being rudely awakened by knocking on the front door. She whispered "Don't move or make a sound, they will soon go."  
J just grinned back at her before closing his eyes, she burying her head in the gap between the side of his head and sofa back. The strange thing was that he couldn't help think how weird it was to have a creature like her on top of him, but at the same time was more than happy to let her carry on. Unfortunately her theory was soon proven wrong as a few seconds later the door swung open, and before either of them could react a blue hedgehog was looking down at the pair curiously.

"So that's where you have been then." The blue hedgehog said with a big grin, jumping to conclusions to what had gone on between the two.

Nic replied defensively "Sonic it's not what you think."

"Sure whatever you say."

"Sonic! What are you doing here this time of day any way, and how did you get in? The doors locked!" As she said it a twin tailed fox walked into the room, Nic thinking _Huh I should have guessed... _"Ignore that last question."

"We just got back to the castle from the expedition trying to find eggmans location, and sally said about the argument you both had the other night."

"Sonic, I know the position you're in at the moment but as far as I'm concerned she can rot in hell."

J now curious about what had happened spoke up "What did she say Nic? "

"Don't worry Jay I'll tell you later."

"Ah so that's what your boyfriends name is. I'm surprised at you Nicole, I never had you down as a human lover..." sonic speaking in teasing tone, clearly trying his hardest to get the girl flustered.

"**SONIC!" **She shouted at him turning a shade of red and annoying J in the process, him thinking _how can this sonic guy be perky this time of day?_

"OK my blue annoyance my name is Jay Ballard, I can guess yours is sonic but who is your two tailed friend back there?"

"You don't know who we are?" sonic sounded shocked. Little did J know that he had somewhat bruised the hedgehogs ego.

"How the bloody hell am I supposed to know? It's not like I'm from around here."

Before sonic could think of a reply the fox stepped forward and introduced himself as Tails, and before long J was explaining the circumstances of how he arrived on Mobius (though leaving out the part of nearly running over Nic).

Tails rubbing his chin deep in thought as he spoke "That's odd, maybe its something involving eggmans new scheme, it's not like he hasn't done anything that strange before. Maybe its to do with..." Sonic sensed an impending techno babble speech from the fox and needed to divert the topic, thinking fast he butted in "Hey Nicole any food around here?"

"Is that a hint you would like breakfast sonic? Just be glad I was about to fix up something for Jay and myself or you know what my answer would have been"

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The 3 guys sat in the small kitchen around the table, Nicole refusing J's offer of help as she set about making breakfast. J noticed tails was studying a DVD he had brought with him from the living room..

"Hey tails what one have you got there?"

"It's the battle of Britain. Jay is the plane on the front the type that your people fly when you left?"

Sonic sighed loudly, he knew Tails still would revert back to how he was as a kid when it came to new machines and especially planes, and knew he wasn't going to talk about anything else for the next month.

"Well no that's the type my grandfather flown, they are long obsolete with the few remaining ones considered museum pieces. I keep that DVD just to remind me what my family have done in the past so to speak, you can borrow it if you want"

The fox nearly exploded in excitement as sonic face palmed before glaring at the human.

"So those are obsolete? What are the latest ones like from your time?" The fox sounding as excited as a child just about to open presents on Christmas day.

"Too much to say really without boring you and I'm no expert, but the latest ones can almost fly themselves with their computers, hell I'm sure some of them can think for themselves."

Sonic half jokingly added "And there was us thinking you Nicole were the first smart computer."

Nicole froze on the spot, hoping Jay didn't hear. Unfortunately he had, asking "What do you mean sonic by Nicole being the first smart computer?"

"Hasn't she told you then?"

"Told me what?"

"oh shit... Tails we gotta go **NOW!**" With that the blue hedgehog ran out of the house dragging the fox behind him.

An awkward silence enveloped the kitchen for a full minute whilst both just looked at each other until J spoke up in a calm yet firm tone. "Please explain to me what just happened Nicole. What did he mean by you being a computer?"

Her green eyes started to well up "If I say you will only abandon me like the rest of them"

"Just tell me Nicole and I'll be the judge of that"

"Please please don't judge me on what i once was... I was a computer based AI in my earlier form, though seven years ago I finally succeeded in having a real body and all the emotions that come with it, I'm no different to anyone else. Please you must believe me."

Silence again. Jays taxed mind having trouble processing what she had said.

A tear rolled down her cheek as she squeaked "Please say something"

He got up and moved away from the table. He been burnt by women in the past who would turn on the waterworks to get what they wanted, frankly on many levels he had no idea what to make of her now.

"Nicole this is too much for me to take in. I'm going out for a while to figure out what's what. I will be back OK?"

She sniffed and nodded in conformation. As he shut the front door behind him he heard her start sobbing loudly, himself feeling low and utterly confused with the position he now found himself in.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Disclaimer:** _I own non of the SEGA characters, they belong to their respective owners. Also I don't own the line of lyric present, that's owned by Depeche Mode/ Martin Gore.  
**_Authors_ _note:_**Thank you for the reviews its much appreciated, especially areviewer as that was something I had pondered on and I am more than willing to tweak it in editing. To level with all of you this first story is something I wrote many months ago and have only just decided to edit/post it.  
Long ramble over, enjoy the next chapter.

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Walking down the street Jay was in a world of his own, mp3 player drowning out any external noises and his mind replaying all that has happened in the last 48 hrs, from leaving Texas and arriving on Mobius, finding the human race had been nearly wiped out in the past, replaced by humanoid type animals and to top it off the lynx that he had found and to a degree let his guard down turned out to have once been a computer, though the latter was giving him the most to think about.

_Was she ever going to tell me or string me along like those other women? Still can a computer ever evolve to that? Was the affection she was showing me just a hangover of programing... though that sobbing sounded pretty damn real and her eyes looked true.  
I wonder why she is so upset about the possibility of me going... Does it matter that she was a computer? Why the hell am I thinking about her, just move on as usual. _

Another song came on though his earphones, with it his mind stopped thinking as he started humming along until the line :

"All I ever wanted, all I ever needed is here in my arms. Words are very unnecessary, they can only do harm."

He stopped in his tracks.  
He couldn't help remember when she was on him in the truck and on the sofa it made all the negative thoughts that would be doing their best to bring him down just vanish. He was rethinking what he was feeling towards her, and of how she shown him around and took him in last night making him feel welcome even though he was in essence a stranger.

Then those words haunted him:

"You will abandon me like the rest of them."

He came to a conclusion. He cared about her wellbeing more than just doing the polite thing.  
_Ballard you have just left the one thing in your life that has shown any kind of affection to you for god only knows how long crying. You Muppet, she has feelings even if she isnt human and it sounds like she has had all this before and wants someone to trust in. Hell she is probably thinking you are the same as the rest of them_.

He had a plan, go get her something just to show that he did care (though what to get other than default apology flowers was another matter considering he didn't know her), go back and try to explain what was going through his head and hope to god she wouldn't be thinking of doing anything daft in his absence. There was a slight flaw considering his lack of money, though he had an idea to sort that out even if it was a long shot. Switching off the mp3 player and pocketing the earphones he set out on his little mission.

After ten minutes with the aid of some local humans pointing him in the right direction he found himself in a small store filled with jewelery and antiques staffed by a white female bat. All things considered he was surprised by her attractiveness and her opening words:

"Hey handsome looking for something?"

"Er not exactly, Indeed I may have something you could be interested in."

She let out a laugh "You know how many men say that to me?"

"I'm not at all surprised." He gave a cheeky wink and she let out another laugh before he continued "Seriously though is there any interest in early 21st century items?"

Surprised by such an odd question and somewhat suspicious of the human she replied "Why do you ask? Hardly anything survived from that time."

"Well you're looking at one, I'm from then."

Her eyes narrowed. "I don't believe you."

With that he pulled out his wallet and emptied out its contents over the glass-topped counter. The bats jaw nearly hit the floor.

"There's only a few paper dollars from that time in existence" She exclaimed after holding one of his ten-dollar bills up to the light. She then picked up A £20 note "I have never seen currency like this before though" She looked at it closer. "Its English! Only one example has been found to this day! how did you find it?" She was clearly in awe of it all.

"Well check my license, I'm English."

She started asking a bunch of questions though he just wanted to get what he wast after and get back to Nic. Whilst the bat was busy looking through the wallets contents he spotted a silver necklace with a ruby enclosed in a heart-shaped pendant on display under the counter.

"I don't want to sound rude but I'm pressed for time, If you had a ten-dollar bill would that cover the necklace you got down there?" he pointed to the one on display.

"Of course and then some"

"I'll take it"

"You do know I'm not able to give you the rest of what I owe you today?"

"As long as its enough to buy the biggest bunch of flowers possible then I don't care."

She looked at him stunned."You really aren't from around here are you?"

"How could you tell." He shot her a smile as she gave him some odd-looking notes and necklace whilst he gathered up the rest of his wallets contents minus one $10 bill, still not believing his luck. As he went to leave the shop the bat flew over and stopped by the door opening it for him.

As he walked out she asked "What's your name any way?"

"Jay Ballard, yourself?"

"Rouge. Don't be a stranger OK Hun."

"Don't worry I wont be." He couldn't help but grin as he carried on out into the street in search of flowers.

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He was outside Nicole's front door, a big bunch of various brightly coloured flowers in one hand and a bag with the necklace in the other, though he hadn't gone in as he didn't know what to say once inside.  
After 5 minutes of pondering he opened the door, deciding to work it out on the fly and praying that he didn't say anything stupid, walking in he noticed his bag down in the hallway.  
_oh crap this isn't boding well. _

With some trepidation he poked his head into the living room to find it empty and the same for the kitchen. He quietly walked up the stairs and looked into the bedroom to find her lying face down on the bed in silence.  
Placing the flowers down on the dresser he then moved to the side of the bed and placed the little case containing the necklace on her bedside cabinet.  
Noticing she hadn't bothered to look up at him he simply said in a low voice:

"I can see you have made your choice and think I'm like the others, I can't blame you considering how I reacted. I hope this little something will remind you that someone out there cares about you even if he does have the knack of doing and saying stupid things. I'll leave you in peace now."

Once he had left the room and was walking down the stairs she turned over and noticed the flowers and the little box to her right. Picking it up and opening it she couldn't believe what it was.

_He does care after all! Oh god please tell me he hasn't gone!_

At that moment she heard the front door close. Jumping off the bed she ran down the stairs, throwing the door open and shouting "**JAY!**" before running to him and wrapping her arms tightly around him before crying uncontrollably.

"**You really do care about me!"**

"Of course I do you daft sod". He said softly back, he himself on the verge of a public emotional moment..

They both stood there in each others arms, Jay squeezing her a little tighter. He had the lyric flash into his head again:_ all I ever wanted, all I ever needed is here in my arms.  
_There little moment was soon shattered as a female voice shouted out "That's disgusting! You should be ashamed of yourselves!" though J didn't think it was aimed at themselves, he did notice a tremor go through Nic's body.

"You heard me human! Find someone of your own species!"

Realising it was aimed at him he quickly let go of Nic and turned around to see a female fox stood on the other side of the street. Unfortunately she had succeeded in winding him up though he held back knowing that what he wanted to say was probably going to bring trouble (like it always had in the past).

"And you lynx, don't you care about are people?... Oh its you Nicole, like you care about us... oh right i forgot your not one of us..."

Now this exceeded his tolerance level. In this state of mind he would become somewhat 'crude' with language, him loudly stating "Now listen fox its one thing to insult me, and quite another to insult her. Now with all due respect go F*** yourself!"

The fox looked shocked for a few moments before quickly walking away, muttering something under her breath in the process.

Nic grabbed his hand, pulling him around to face her and simply said "Thank you" before leading him back into the house.

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Early that evening a black mobian dog was walking down a corridor in palace Acorn, hoping he could catch the queen in a good mood considering what he had to tell her.  
Arriving at the queens chamber door he knocked 4 times, followed shortly by a female voice calling from within "Enter". Opening the door he made his way in across the room, bowing down in front of the queen before saying " Your majesty I have learnt something that you need to be aware of, though I must speak with you in private."

"Very well. Sonic may you please leave us for a moment."

"Uh ok Sally." The hedgehog did as he was told and left the room, even though he hated being left out of these meetings he knew from experience that making her angry was a very bad idea.

"Go on Frank what is it you have to say?"

"Well you see i have just heard reports that there has been a possible mobian/human couple spotted on the outskirts of the city. A member of the public asked them what they were doing and by all accounts the humans response was less than appropriate."

"Is that all Frank? Just do your usual and keep your people monitoring them and make sure that they don't corrupt any others."

"It's not that. You see the mobian is reportedly Nicole."

A silence drifted across the room as the queen thought of the implications of this revelation.

"Now Frank keep an eye on her yourself. I'm surprised she would have the nerve though this could be an act of retaliation for what I said to her. You are now dismissed"

"Understood your majesty."  
The dog walked out of the room, finding Sonic just outside in the corridor he uttered to him "You can go back in hedgehog" before continuing on to his next task.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Disclaimer:** _I own non of the Sonic characters or Par Avion, they belong to SEGA/Mike+The Mechanics/respective owners.

A few weeks passed by since his arrival to mobius, J had kept himself busy over at Tails workshop and in the process gaining a new friend, though the first day nearly ended in tragedy when the fox looked over Jays old truck, marveling at the ancient technology, had nearly shot himself in the foot after discovering the old revolver Jay kept under the driver's seat. Apparently projectile weapons have long since been relegated to the technological dustbin, surpassed by energy discharge equivalents.  
Since that day he learnt that the fox was quite isolated bar Sonic and his 'aunt' Sally, his old friends and colleagues had fallen victim to an attack some years ago though there was mention of someone called Amy. By all accounts aunt Sally and Amy didn't see eye to eye so he stopped seeing her for fear of upsetting his aunt, something of a similar nature also applied to Nic though the remarkable fox would never elaborate.

Nicole carried on with her 9-5 job at an IT firm, all the time still amazed that J hadn't run off or done something nasty _like the others would_. In the evenings she talked to him, watch films together and listen to his mp3 player if he was late getting back, enjoying the various types of the old Earth (notably new romantics/synth-pop/power ballads being her prefered genres) compared to the limited amount on offer in the city.

One night she found herself feeling very alone. J had warned her that morning he would probably be late back, something to do with an urgent repair to something or other that required his presence. Doing her usual routine she was soon relaxing on the sofa listening to his music whilst waiting for his return. When she realised it had gone 11:30pm she decided to head to bed, the thoughts of him abandoning her starting to flow around her mind.  
After the usual bed time routine she sat on the edge of her bed in darkness bar the moonlight, flicking through the songs on the mp3 player, wanting some music to take her mind off the thoughts. One track caught her eye by its unusual (to a mobian) title 'Par Avion'.  
She played that song countless times, it made her think of him and what she needed. Looking out of the window up at the moon she wondered where he was and if he was going to come back, though at least singing along seemed to help.  
That same night after coming home from a very long day J found her sat in semi darkness on the edge of her bed gazing at the moon. Its light shone through the window cascading over her delicate features as she softly sang a song, originally completely oblivious to his presence though considering how she gently nuzzled him as he sat down besides her he knew who she was thinking of.  
This little moment made him painfully aware he had fallen for her, though a few negative thoughts still remained in his mind about a full-blown relationship with a different species compared to what he considered themselves at the moment.

Over at palace Acorn the queen had learnt from Franks observance what the human/lynx had been doing, and from other contacts that the human had traded ancient artifacts through a small shop in the human district, though no reports of them together in public causing trouble/corrupting others had slightly eased the queens concerns about them, though she knew if they were bold enough to come to the upcoming dance she would have to intervene and tell Nicole a few 'truths'...

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Wanting to escape the house for one night Nic had suggested going for a drive to one of her favorite places. After an hour on the road she directed him to a secluded spot overlooking a river well outside the city limits. Parking up as close to the river bank as he dared he jumped out of the truck and made his way on to the bonnet, motioning her to do the same. For a few minutes they both leaned against each other with their backs against the windscreen, her head on his shoulder taking in the sight of the stars and the moon reflecting off the river.

He broke the silence.  
"Its funny, the last few years I would look up at the moon and think that someone somewhere under it cared about me, perhaps even able to love me, and they would be looking up at it thinking the same. Now I know that person is here leaning against me."

At that very moment he was sure that he felt a tremble go through her body before she placed her hands either side of his face and pulled him so he was looking directly into her eyes.

"Please only say things like that if you mean it." She spoke with a hint of disappointment, a legacy of her past.

"Why would I say it otherwise?" It was his turn to place his hands on her face, his thumbs gently rubbing the black markings under her eyes.  
"I don't promise the world, or even that I know whats going to happen. All i know is that all I want is whats best for you ok?"

She quickly pulled him close, the pair sharing a kiss. The strange thing was what was going through their minds, Nic thinking _Please let this never end. _Jay on the other hand _Ok that happened sooner than I could have guessed, I think she really was deprived of affection. I just hope she doesn't want this to move too fast...__  
_

A car pulled up next to them followed by its doors opening. Nicole somewhat confused thinking _Nobody knows this place except me, Amy and Sally.  
_The mystery was soon answered as a voice called to Nic amongst giggling :

"Thank god you let go of him, he needed to breathe sometime."

J could feel the heat off her cheeks as she blushed.

"Amy what are you doing here?"

"Sonic _**finally**_ let me take him out, so I thought here as its _**so** **romantic**_ on a night like this."

J could then see the blue annoyance walking up to the trucks side, a pink hedgehog next to him.

"See I knew you two were a couple, I'm glad I didn't ruin it that morning" Sonic speaking in a somewhat apologetic tone.

J thinking that sonic might actually be normal under the hyper exterior replied "Don't worry mate it will take more than that to damage us" whilst speaking he started tickling Nicole ears.

"Awe sonic aren't they such a cute couple, don't they remind you of us?" but before he could correct her Amy squeaked in joy as she spotted the necklace "What's that around your neck? That looks expensive!"

"Oh the necklace? J got it not long ago to remind me he will always be here for me." She turned and kissed him on the cheek, her shyness apparently gone though it was now J's turn to blush. Sonic was barely able to stop himself making a smart comment before Amy spoke up.

"Awe I'm so glad you found Mr right, you both must go to the dance that's coming up."

A slightly confused lynx replied "Amy isn't that for mobians only?"

"Well your mobian. Human/mobian couples should be allowed even if _**Sally **_and her cronies don't approve."

J knew exactly what Nic was going to ask so decided to answer her before she spoke "I would be flattered to go with you Nic. Who ever this Sally person is she can go to hell. "  
Nic smiled at the comment before remembering Sonic was still officially with Sally, signaling time for them to go before saying anything worse.

On the drive home his emotions was mixed with happiness from the kiss and worry, wondering what would happen if she wanted to take it further before his last niggling thought of bestiality had gone. Nic in comparison was on cloud 9, not really believing what happened and now couldn't wait for the dance...


	7. Chapter 7

_**Disclaimer:**_ I own none of the Sega chaters, they belong to their respective owners.  
_**Authors ramble:**_ Many thanks to the reviews and support shown though apologies for not updating sooner. Its been a mad start to the year combined with the fact how much of this chapter has been reworked/changed/edited from the original that it has taken up a suprising amount of time. Still not entirely sure if I got it as I want but hey ho, time to release it into the wild before I fall asleep on the keyboard!  
Ramble over.

The two weeks that had separated that night by the river and the dance had gone relatively smoothly. In that time Nic would fuss over him like a mother hen with its only chick, initially annoying J but after he had a chat with Tails he came to relies she hadn't really had chance to learn how to act upon some emotions and she only meant well.  
A concern for him was the nightmares she had roughly every other night (discovered after being upgraded from the sofa so to speak), though it was a simple matter of stroking her or a hug to settle her it still worried him as she would never say what it was about, though guessed it was something do with her past.  
On a more positive note Nic's confidence had grown, happily taking him to a human bar close to home, and a bonus of that was discovering the human locals in general showed him a degree of respect purely on the basis of him being one of the "original" race once they had discovered his origins, though that was only after he explained how he met Nic after a few questioned why he was with a mobian instead of a human. Another thing learnt from the bar was parts of the human populace were not happy with the head off state, and the barrage of new rules now being imposed on human business owners, wishing they had a democracy and not a monarch.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The evening of the dance had arrived, J sat in the living room waiting patiently for Nic to finish off getting ready. The problem with waiting was that it was giving himself time to think about how he looked in the suite, the suite Nic had persuaded him to buy for the occasion. He didn't hide his dislike to formal dress codes but went along with it considering this seemed important to her, and had thought of something that might ease his discomfort with the look...

As the lynx walked into the living room J choked and spluttered on a drink as soon as he seen her wearing a little black dress. Spotting a bottle of human spirit sitting on the coffee she worked out what he choked on and was a bit concerned why he chose it. Before he could entirely regain his composure she asked:

"Why are you drinking that?"

"I guess you could say its Dutch courage needed for wearing this." Looking over Nic's attire he added "You definitely don't need any, hell I didn't think perfection could be improved upon but you have managed to do it with that."

With a large smile she replied "Well that answered my next question."  
Looking over him she couldn't be happier with how he looked, though could see how tense he was.

"You really aren't happy in that are you? I know what will make you feel more yourself... Stay here."

In less than a minute she was back in the room with his Bushman's hat, handing it to him she said: "You can wear it, the last thing I want is my human unhappy because of me. Come on we best go now."

Putting on the hat he followed her out of the door, smiling over her new favorite thing of calling him "my human".

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Arriving late at the dance inside the palace grounds they couldn't ignore the looks that the other mobians were casting their direction, and even some being bold enough to openly point at the two. Now J wasn't worried at the slightest at what they thought as long as they didn't make any comments, whilst Nic's confidence remained intact taking it all in her stride as they made their way to the dance floor.

As time went by it became clear that a human trying to copy a mobian dance definitely drew attention, but not as much as a lynx copying an old earth dance. The two weren't bothered as they rarely took their eyes of each other and were enjoying themselves far too much.  
As a song finished before an interval J picked her up, swung her around followed by the pair kissing.

A mixture of gasps of shock from the sidelines and applause from some more enlightened people filled the air before the a familiar giggling pulled them out of the moment.

"Awe I didn't mean to disturb you two, I just would never have expected you to have had the bottle to do that, still you two are such a cute couple!"

Jay wearily replied "Thanks Amy... are you with Sonic tonight?"

To that Amy's face dropped before replying with a hint of anger:

"He is with Sally."

Nic intervened, remembering she had yet to explain to J not to annoy her or get her angry "Never mind Amy, he will come around sooner or later. Still who are you with tonight?"

"I supposed be with a few friends but they have all dropped out at the last-minute. Tails will be around Sonic and _**her**, _so I'm just seeing who's around."

J and Nic glanced at each other before Nic spoke: "You can be with us if you like, that's if you don't mind being seen with a human/mobian couple, especially as one of them is wearing a dumb looking hat."

A smile crept over Amy's face before she hugged the two.

"Awe you guys are great, I'll grab some drinks before the music starts again." With that the pink hedgehog let go and quickly ran off to the bar.

"Bless her, her harts in the right place isn't it, shame Sonic can't see that."

"It is, but there is a lot of things you still don't know J, I think that he can see it but is stuck until he can escape without causing too much damage."

"Hmm sounds complicated, makes me think are troubles are nothing by comparison."

She nodded in agreement followed by another kiss before Amy could get back with the drinks.

A female voice rang out across the floor:

"**NICOLE! **What are you doing with that _thing ?_ I mean haven't you created enough problems in the past, let alone this? You disgust me, and to think you were my friend you freak!"

J looking over Nic's shoulder could see the source of the derogatory comments. It was a squirrel type mobian with brown hair and blue eyes. Nic knew exactly who the voice belonged to without looking, and knew whatever J would say wasn't going to be _diplomatic_.

In his anger he failed to spot a blue hedgehog and fox frantically motioning him to be quiet. As his mouth opened to speak a part of his brain was telling him he had seen her before from somewhere, not that it mattered as he was well past the point of no return, shouting:

"**HOW DARE YOU! **How dare you talk to Nicole like that you jumped up tree rodent! What is wrong with two people loving each other? I tell you what, nothing! Hell with friends like you who needs enemy's? Go on get f#### you bloody tree rat!

An eerie silence descended across the dance floor. Everyone had there jaws on the floor except J and Nic. He was still full of rage and glaring at the squirrel wishing she wasn't a female or he would have taken it outside. Nic was grinning like a Cheshire cat considering he had stood his ground, and had thought of the perfect thing to top it off with, a bit of retaliation for the things the squirrel had said to her in the past.

"You know how to really wind her up J?"

Not sure what to expect he uttered "Go on."

"Come here."

The pair shared a passionate kiss, the squirrel letting out a shriek at the sight before passing out.

"I think we best go now J."

"Too true my dear, too true."

He took off his hat and placed it on her head which made her giggle. As they walked from the dance floor and out of the palace grounds Nicole somehow felt liberated by it all, the crowd behind them still looking on in awe.

A guard was the first to break the silence asking: "Sonic should I go after them?"

The blue hedgehog let out a sigh whilst looking at the unconscious squirrel: "No don't worry about them, Sally brought this on herself."


	8. Chapter 8

**_Disclaimer:_** I own none of the characters other than Jay, they belong to SEGA and Archie.  
_**Authors ramble**_: Many thanks to those of you that have reviewed and as ever its much appreciate, and apologies to those of you keeping tabs on this story for the big delay.

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As the couple walked through the city Jay had an idea, "Hey the nights still young, do you fancy grabbing a drink or something?"

Nic replying in a playful manner "Good idea, I'll treat you considering you stood against Sally."

"Ah that was the Sally you were on about before right? Heck I would have wound her up more if I realised."

Letting out a light laugh she replied "I think its best you didn't, that's probably the first time anyone put her in her place since she became queen."

Slightly puzzled by that he simply responded "Queen?"

"Yes queen Sally, remember the pictures I showed you?"

Casting his mind back to earlier that week he could just about remember being shown some photos after he got back from the workshop. Cursing himself for not paying attention he now thought about the possible problems he might have created, and now surprised at Nics relaxed attitude.

"Doesn't it concern you that I just offended the queen?"

"Don't worry Sonic will calm her down and point out she shouldn't have spoken to me like that, It will all be fine especially if I get you that drink you so like."

As much as a part of him now wanted to get completely drunk in an attempt to forget his new worry, experience had taught him dealing with crap under the influence or combined with a hangover rarely worked.

"Scratch the drink idea, iv lost my taste for it."

"Don't be so silly! This is the only time I'm ever going to see you in a suite correct? I got to make the most of it." With that she held his hand and led him through the streets, his mind split between marveling at the lynxes new-found confidence and yet concerned about what may happen.

XXXXXXXXXX

Sitting at a table outside a bar in human district Nic couldn't help but notice Jay being a lot quieter than usual, unknown to her he was thinking what would probably happen on old earth if he made such a scene.

"What's wrong Jay?"

"Come on Nic I'm still not buying this whole it will be fine thing, if this was the queen of England we were dealing with I'd be finding a way to escape the country."

Remembering the times Sally was left alone when Sonic and Tails would go on one of their expeditions she conceded "Don't worry Sonic is there, it's when she is on her own you might have to worry."

Jay non the wiser to the details of all past events was now idly playing with the label on his bottle, responded with a less than convincing "Hmm, if you say so."

"It will be fine, besides if the worst comes to the worst I'm sure my human will protect me."

Looking up his concerns faded away at the sight of those eyes coupled with the small but honest smile on her lips. As he was thinking of a suitable reply the sound of glass shattering and raised voices from withing the bar grabbed his attention. As the shouting grew louder with accompanying crashing noises he remarked "At least it's not only us having an interesting night, hell I didn't even smash-up the place."

Nics smile grew, her human had gone back to his usual self.

As the bar door violently swung open both looked over to see a white bat standing there shouting back into the bar "Remember you so-called _human _don't touch what you can't afford!"

Jay surprised by who it was, or rather the attitude he had never seen before, absent-mindedly said out loud "Rouge?"

The bat hearing this looked over, and upon seeing Jay quickly composed her self and started towards the table. "Well here's a _real_ man who would have no such worries. What brings you here _mister_ Ballard."

Nic getting the wrong idea hissed under her breath "How do you know her?"

"She owns the shop where I been trading my stuff at, don't worry she is always like this." Then going on to answer the bats question, "There was trouble at the dance so we thought have a drink instead."

As the bat sat next to Jay she looked over to Nic and asked "You two a couple then? Very brave though at least you had a bit of luck to snag him honey. Please tell me the trouble wasn't to do with you."

Nic replying "We might have been the source of the trouble."

As the two of them explained what had happened Rouge started to become concerned. A few years ago she had her night club shut down for such human/mobian interaction, and was more than aware of the heavy-handed tactics to ensure obedience to the crown, to insult the queen in the way they did could only end badly knowing that people had _disappeared_ for far less. Telling the pair what she thought she then went to produce from her handbag a small piece of paper with an address and a telephone number, the bat explaining it was a village she would use for out-of-town _transactions_ and her own personal number.

"Listen you two, if her goons come after you or someone approaches to question you get out of the city, even if it's just till this all settles down. The village is a long distance away down logging tracks through the forest rather than main roads, but I think your truck thing should be fine Jay.

Somewhat taken back by Rouges offer of help Nic replied "Hopefully it wont come to that as Sonic will put her straight, but why would you be willing to help us?"

"Honey you put far too much faith in that hedgehog. Now you see I am simply looking after my own interests, Jay still has more pre-mobian artefacts and currency stuffed in his wallet than anywhere else on the planet, and if he is free he can deal with me, however if anybody locks him up then it will all go to the crown and where's my profit in that?"

Jay uttered "I should have guessed."

The bat leaned forward over the table, looking Nic straight in the eyes "Remember Nicole look after him, and if you ever get bored you know who to send him to."

Now suitably uncomfortable the lynx got up and walked over to Jay, making it clear she wanted to go home whilst grabbing his hand. Rouge now sensing Nicole could be easily teased decided to indulge in one of her favorite past times a little more, waiting for the pair to be a few yards away she called out for Jay, and once Nic was looking blew him a kiss before nibbling a drinking straw in a teasing manner. Rouge knew Jay would take it as a joke but Nics reaction was priceless, the lynx immediately pulling the human around and started walking off home, arm firmly behind his back.


	9. Chapter 9

**_Disclaimer: _**As ever I own none of the characters other than Jay, they belong to SEGA/Archie/respective owners.  
_**Authors ramble: **_Besides my usual nonsense in the following there is a reference to certain animal characteristics. I am aware everyone has different views of how mobians may look/behave if they existed so please no flames, just enjoy these scribbles for what they're worth. Ramble over.  
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Now back at home and waiting for Jay to come out of the bathroom, Nic sat on the edge of the bed in her night attire thinking over a few things. Even though there was more than enough from the last couple of hours to think about, the only thing that kept going through her mind was how Rouge acted around Jay. Thinking a little deeper some of her old worries started to come to the surface, pondering on why Jay hadn't taken things further in one area of the relationship considering humans/overlanders were supposed to be eager for _that_ if they leaned towards fur.  
Jay walking into the room in his boxers certainly wasn't expecting Nic's question as she came to the logical reason for his hold back:

"You do find me attractive right?"

"What? Why would you even have to ask that?"

She felt daft for asking it now, even if he hadn't replied his expression said it all.

"It's just that we haven't... Sorry I was just being silly."

Walking to the bed Jay picked her up in his arms before sitting himself down with her legs wrapped around his waist. As he looked at her it dawned upon him what made her say it and the reasoning behind this latest episode of self-doubt, though how to explain his hold back on a certain activity would be another matter:

"We will do that soon I promise, though I could kick myself for letting whatever it is in my head stop me. I guess that's what religion and a millenia of my kind being taught not to do _that _does to a guy."

A small smile graced her lips though he still wanted to reassure her more to kill off any possible future doubts. Thinking quickly he placed one of her hands against his chest and looking deep into those green orbs he continued: "Feel that? You own it, and for as long as it beats it will beat for you and only you so no more silly questions, okay fluff?"

She didn't reply verbally, only copying what he had done so his free hand was now on her chest, Jay feeling it rise and fall as she breathed shortly followed by vibrations as she began to purr. Moving in for a kiss the sound of banging on the front door echoed up the stairs and into the bedroom. Pulling away from each other they both could guess something bad was going to happen.

Jay asking Nic: "Get my wallet, keys and my old jacket from the bathroom and wait here okay?"

Nodding in confirmation she went off to do as he asked whilst he got up and walked out of the bedroom to the top of the stairs, the noise of banging coupled with the shouts of "Come on Nicole I know you're in there!" now filling the air. Jay walking down only a few steps before the door broke off its hinges in one almighty crash, revealing a black mobian dog in the doorway. The dog looking in and spotting Jay on the stairs growled "I hope she was worth it, It's the last your ever going to get," before running in and up the stairs.

Jay holding his place on the stairs hoped to subdue the intruder or at least block it's path to Nic considering in his mind it was only an overgrown dog. As the two met a short tussle broke out resulting in them both losing their balance and rolling down the stairs. Once at the bottom the dog was soon on-top as they both went for each others throats and as they wrestled like this it soon became clear to Jay quite how strong some mobians are. Realising he couldn't win this fight Jay shouted out: "Get out of here Nic!"

No response.

Now the dogs hands had found what they were looking for, slowly strangling the human in the process. As Jay grew weaker it commented with a twisted smile: "I hope you humans never learn, this is too much fun."

Nic moving from the bathroom to the top of the stairs could see Jays increasingly futile attempts of removing the dog, the scene unlocking something within she had never felt before since becoming a true mobian. Enraged by what was happening to her human and following the instincts that came with the lynx D.N.A. she leaped from her vantage point with the poise and ferocity of a scalded tigress, sinking her claw-come-nails into the dogs back upon landing.  
The dog now in much pain released his grasp on Jay and turned its attention to the hissing lynx that was now taking swipes at him whilst still clinging on. Initial attempts to dislodge her only resulted in his hands being badly cut, the dog eventually getting up and resorting to thumping her backwards into the walls.  
Jay now getting his breath and strength back watched as she got knocked of by the bottom of the stairs, the dog growling down at the lynx:

"You said you come to help us, hell I think fat man himself sent you for all the good you been. Your either going to tell me what I want to know or I can't be held responsible for my actions."

Looking up at the dog that was now towering over her she replied with an air of resignation: "I know nothing."

With a loud snort of contempt it replied: "That's the way you want to play it then huh? Right I should have done this years ago."

Jay watching the dog go for something in its pocket could guess what would happen next. Getting himself up off the floor he lunged for the dog's tail and upon finding his target pulled the dog off it's feet, swinging it headfirst into the wall. Thankfully the canine slumped to the floor unconscious.

As the couple embraced each other and checked each other was okay a voice from the dogs jacket got their attention: "Frank we now have patrols ready on the exits, have you got to the house yet?"

A sense of panic settled on them both as they realized the depth of crap they were now in. After a quick discussion on their options they set to the road in his old truck, Nic confident she knew of a little used track that would lead out of the city to the great forest.

xxxxxxxxxx

Driving down a deserted back road flanked by trees Jay was starting to think that they might just get away with it, or at least up to the point of seeing in the distance a patrol car parked across the front of their escape route. Pulling up to the side of the road whilst turning off the lights he asked: "Is there any other way out other than the main routes?"

Quietly she replied: "No."

As he sat there thinking what to do his eyes became accustomed to the darkness, and in the process of looking at the surrounding trees a hair brained plan came to mind:

"Is your eyesight better than a humans in the dark, and more to the point can you see those trees clearly?"

"I can see them clearly enough, how's that going to help?"

"I think we could squeeze through the gaps if you took the wheel."

She couldn't believe him. Driving a normal mobian car is childs play with the joys of a fuel cell like technology making it not too dissimilar to a present day automatic. However driving a vehicle with an engine, an extra pedal and two gear levers was something completely different and Nic was not afraid to say it: "You are joking? I don't even know how to drive this thing."

"You won't have to, all you got to do is look, steer and tell me to speed up or slow down whilst I control the pedals and gears. We will only need to crawl this old bus through the gaps until we get to the track on the other side of that car, unless of course you got any better ideas?"

After a short pause she replied: "Okay let's try it."

Clambering over to his side and settling on his lap Jay warned her about touching the pedals and try to pick a route that didn't involve reversing (Jay fearful that the reverse or brake lights would show their location).  
Shifting the truck into gear and letting up the clutch the two set off slowly into the trees, both praying that they could get through, not get spotted and the sound of the old diesel engine wouldn't reveal them.


End file.
